expropriate
verb /eksˈprəʊprieɪt/
/eksˈprəʊprieɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they expropriate | /eksˈprəʊprieɪt/ /eksˈprəʊprieɪt/ |
| he / she / it expropriates | /eksˈprəʊprieɪts/ /eksˈprəʊprieɪts/ |
| past simple expropriated | /eksˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/ /eksˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/ |
| past participle expropriated | /eksˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/ /eksˈprəʊprieɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form expropriating | /eksˈprəʊprieɪtɪŋ/ /eksˈprəʊprieɪtɪŋ/ |
- expropriate something (formal or law) (of a government or an authority) to officially take away private property from its owner for public use
- expropriate something (formal) to take somebody’s property and use it without permission
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from medieval Latin expropriat- ‘taken from the owner’, from the verb expropriare, from ex- ‘out, from’ + proprium ‘property’, neuter singular of proprius ‘own’.